So I'd really like to make a stout or porter thatd be good for spring or summer. I've never had an ESB though so I might like that too. I'm really open to the best suggestions of a recipe with this. I just don't want to make another IPA just yet. I have 3 in the fermenter and I'm the only person that drinks them. (I know... why is this a problem?)

i'd definitely back down on the c120L and the C60L a bit. 2# is a bit much for my tastes. 1# of each is more than enough, i'd probably go for more like 3/4# of each. then up the base malt to compensate. if you're trying to get the color right, toast some of the chocolate malt to darken it up, then add it late in the mash, so you don't get too much flavor from it.

The crystal 120 and 60 gives it some color but I think the rye will help dry it out a bit. That's probably not the right terminology but its that flavor the rye gives it that should balance out the sweetness.

The crystal 120 and 60 gives it some color but I think the rye will help dry it out a bit. That's probably not the right terminology but its that flavor the rye gives it that should balance out the sweetness.

The crystal 120 and 60 gives it some color but I think the rye will help dry it out a bit. That's probably not the right terminology but its that flavor the rye gives it that should balance out the sweetness.

yep. perceived dryness. i like rye.

Its flaked rye if that makes a difference. I think I should have bought more rye. LOL. I got 5lbs and I want to do a rye IPA as well. Definately gonna use it in the porter though.

The crystal 120 and 60 gives it some color but I think the rye will help dry it out a bit. That's probably not the right terminology but its that flavor the rye gives it that should balance out the sweetness.

yep. perceived dryness. i like rye.

Its flaked rye if that makes a difference. I think I should have bought more rye. LOL. I got 5lbs and I want to do a rye IPA as well. Definately gonna use it in the porter though.

The crystal 120 and 60 gives it some color but I think the rye will help dry it out a bit. That's probably not the right terminology but its that flavor the rye gives it that should balance out the sweetness.

yep. perceived dryness. i like rye.

Its flaked rye if that makes a difference. I think I should have bought more rye. LOL. I got 5lbs and I want to do a rye IPA as well. Definately gonna use it in the porter though.

I've been using an excell spreadsheet to convert all recipes to fit my biab system. I input a gravity and desired beer length and it tells me how much grain I need total then splits it all up for me when I put in the original recipe. It won't account for the molasses in the gravity so how much about how much grain in a mash would equate to 5oz molasses? That way I can just put it in as a grain and go from there so I hit my gravities correctly. I guess its really not much so I could just put the rest of the recipe in and add the 5oz. But it would be helpful to know ballpark how much its gonna raise my og. I've been ending up with about 22-23 L at the end of a boil to get 19 L of beer at bottling.

If this looks good, should I still toast some of the chocolate malt? or some of the base malt? How much, what temp, and how long?

Also what temp should I mash at and how long? I don't have iodine for that iodine test so I've just been doing either what the recipe says or a 90 min mash to be safe.

i would toast some of the chocolate malt at 300F for about 30 minutes, stirring often. stop when it just begins to smoke a little. you don't want charcoal, just a deep toasting. some folks say to leave it in a bag for a week or two to let the flavor mellow, but i've had no problems using it right away.

for a porter, i like to mash at 154 or 156. just enough body to back up the roasty, deep flavors.

you should get some iodophor. they sell it at just about every big grocery store, chain pharmacy, and lhbs. it's about $3 for a 9 oz bottle. you can use it to sanitize and for starch conversion tests. it's a really handy tool to have around. without it, though, i would just go for a 75 min mash. 90 is overkill and likely to dry the beer out more than you intend to. mashing beyond the full starch conversion is tantamount to mashing lower.

so if you mashed for an extra 30 minutes beyond full conversion, the enzymes keep breaking things down. the long chain dextrines that you created start to get chopped into shorter, more fermentable chains, giving you a wort that is more fermentable, as if you had mashed several degrees lower.